The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) services is making the manufacturing process for memory chips increasingly complex and challenging. As the conventional race to shrink transistors and pack more components densely in silicon circuits reaches its limits, chipmakers are scrambling to come up with new ways to enhance computing speed. In the process, architectures that place memory closer to graphics processing units or stack memory directly on top of them are gaining traction. Known as advanced packaging, this is driving the importance of innovation in materials, according to Kate Dei Cas, Merck’s executive vice president and head of delivery systems and services and specialty gases. “Materials innovation is going to become increasingly important as the industry is changing from having stacked high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and really getting to what we call 3D densification or advanced packaging,” Dei Cas told The Korea Times during an interview on the sidelines of SEMICON Korea 2026 in Seoul on Feb. 11. “Advanced packaging becomes really critical when you start to